Five people accused of murder after the death of a Mombasa pupil in a bus accident want the charges reduced.
Seven year-old Jeremy Masila, who attended St Augustine Preparatory School, died at Sega area in Majengo on July 21.
Coast traffic boss Emmanuel Okanda said the child was crushed while trying to pick his water bottle and bag which fell through a gap in the floor plate of the bus.
Read: Probe launched after Mombasa school bus crushes pupil
The ODPP had preferred murder charges but the accused want to face traffic, not criminal charges.
The five are school principal Sara Kesi, bursar Venant Mwaliko, driver Vald Mbadi, his assistant Abdenego Mwendwa and school mechanic Charo Kazungu.
High Court judge Dora Chepkowny ordered the regional CID boss to arrest the suspects and present them in court in two days.
But lawyers Gikandi Ngibuini and Francis Kadima told said the suspects are remorseful.
“The accused have apologised and the family has accepted that it was an accident which was unavoidable,” Gikandi said.
“The charges are not stipulated in the traffic Act, NTSA laws and the Prosecution Act on how the DPP should practice his mandate."
Read: NTSA pursue Mombasa school whose bus ran over pupil
The lawyers they will file a constitutional petition for the court to review the charges which they termed too strong for the offences.
Kadima said the charges were politically instigated and fueled by social media.
But assistant DPP Alexander Muteti said the defence should not "read too much from nothing".
Muteti advised that they prepare themselves for the hearing and let the court decide if they are innocent.
He denied the link to politics and also dismissed the impact of social media.
Muteti urged the High court to issue orders for the accused to undergo mental check-ups to prove they are fit for trial.
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